U.S. Pat. No. 5,562,536 (the '536 Patent) discloses a coin separating apparatus for separating coins of different denominations of currency into groups of coins of each denomination, and is assigned to the assignee of this application.
The '536 Patent discloses an apparatus where the coins are separated according to denomination and are stored as separated. This coin separating apparatus utilizes a gauge plate which is made from a steel plate or the like, and which has a ring shape with a wide width wherein the periphery portion of the gauge plate is slanted and the slanted portion is provided with holes for every denomination.
In other words, the apparatus is characterized in that the slanted portion is provided with holes which are formed by considering the diameters of the coins of every denomination of interest. The holes are arranged on a circle that is concentric with the periphery of the gauge plate.
However, the coin separating and sorting apparatus is designed to be compatible with the provision of a circular shape to the whole structure of the apparatus. Therefore, the store devices for the coins of every denomination to be separated must be arranged so as to be in one plane. Even if the size of the whole structure of the apparatus is made larger, because of this requirement, the space to store a plural kind of the coins is relatively limited. In other words, there is a problem that the design flexibility is decreased and the space for the arrangement is limited in the case where plural store devices must be arranged for the coins of every denomination, since the above-mentioned coin sorting apparatus is designed on the basis of its circular shape.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a coin sorting apparatus which is made smaller in size.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a coin sorting apparatus which has a structure such that a plurality of different sized coins move in a straight path in an upright standing posture and which has a relatively larger space for the store devices for storing the coins sorted into every denomination.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a coin sorting apparatus which can be disassembled into two large parts in order to facilitate its maintenance and inspection.